Category Archives: Education

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
THE city government of Makati in Metro Manila has started the retagging of properties and survey of households located within the five-meter buffer zone on either side of the West Valley Fault (WVF).
The WVF traverses four barangays in the city and is expected to generate a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Metro Manila anytime soon, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said Tuesday.
Binay said she has ordered the retagging to update the current list of affected properties in preparation for the implementation of the WVF marker installation project in the four barangays. She has also asked for a survey of households located in lots within the buffer zones to determine the number of target beneficiaries for the city’s relocation assistance program.

The Social Security System (SSS) has achieved the highest feedback resolution rate of 91.33 percent based on the 1st Quarter 2017 Citizen Hotline 8888 Report by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said the pension fund resolved 1,170 queries, complaints, and requests out of 1,281 calls endorsed by Hotline 8888.
“Although SSS got the most number of feedback, our team from the Member Communications and Assistance Department were able to resolve them immediately,” Dooc said.

THE Social Security System (SSS) has lauded the Supreme Court’s (SC) issuance of a “status quo ante order” (SQAO) which temporarily prohibits the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to expropriate the entire 6.5-ha property of the pension fund in Pasay City.
“We are very much thankful with the decision of the SC favoring our prayers to disallow NGCP to take over our members’ land in Financial Center in Pasay City. This may be a partial victory for our part but this is a big step in protecting our members’ interests,” Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Amado D. Valdez said.

By: Oscar Omer Almenario
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said criminals have no humanity.
The President made the statement during an interview in Cebu City in response to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) which said drug-related killings may be considered crimes against humanity.
“If you kill criminals, it is not a crime against humanity. The criminals have no humanity,” Duterte said after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.
He likewise said those who were killed in legitimate government operations were the ones who fought back against law enforcers.

By: Omer Oscar Almenario
IN lauding the move of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) stopping the Manila Bay reclamation project, Sen. Cynthia Villar said that volunteers scored a victory for the protection of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA).
“This is a welcome development to the cause I’m pursuing along with residents of Las Piñas, Parañaque and Cavite, as well as groups in religious, private and environmental sectors. We hope the Manila Bay reclamation project, which experts see as detrimental to the environment and livelihood of 300,000 fishermen, will be permanently shelved,” the woman senator said.

By: Omer Almenario
SEEKING to stop the alarming spread of misinformation online, Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan wants to penalize Facebook for fake news item it allows to be propagated on its pages.
In Senate Resolution (PSR) 271 filed late Wednesday afternoon, the new Liberal Party president said: “The propagation of fake news stories has become an effective weapon of several political operatives to influence public opinion and national discourse. As a result, the level and quality of public discourse have suffered. Discerning the truth from the lies has become more difficult every day as manipulation of information and blatant fabrication of stories have become increasingly rampant.”

By: Omer Oscar Almenario
PHILIPPINE Senator Richard J. Gordon is considering conducting an inquiry into the reasons for law enforcers being slow in investigating the killings, particularly those committed in Caloocan City during the last few days of 2016.
Gordon, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, pointed out that the committee can conduct a motu proprio investigation when misfeasance, malfeasance or non-feasance is committed.
“I am contemplating conducting an investigation into these recent killings. The Blue Ribbon Committee can conduct a motu proprio inquiry into these killings. What is taking the police so long to finish the investigations? If they are not conducting an investigation then they are not doing their job. That is non-feasance. If they did their job but did not do it properly, that is malfeasance,” he said.

‎By: Omer Oscar Almenario
SENATOR Loren Legarda has supported calls to increase the maternity leave of employees in the government and private sector to 100 days as she filed the proposed Expanded Maternity Leave Law (Senate Bill No. 1262).
Legarda said that the current maternity leave of 60 days for normal delivery and 78 days in case of caesarian delivery does not even comply with the international labor standards on maternal protection that recommends a minimum of 14 weeks or 98 days of maternity leave.
“The proposed measure is imperative to ensuring the health and overall well-being of women and their children by providing them ample time to recuperate after delivery, to increase the duration of breastfeeding and to allow women to spend adequate time to assume their roles as mothers and equal partners of men in nation-building,” Legarda stressed.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
THE Philippine government expressed sympathy to the family of former Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who passed away on Thursday morning. She died peacefully in her sleep at 8:52 a.m. at the St. Lukes’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City after more than two years of battling lung cancer.
“She was a shining light in Philippine political annals, for her sharp legal mind, uncompromising stand and acid humor,” Presidential Spokesperson said in a press statement.
Abella said Santiago had a profound influence on millenials and the youth – constantly challenging pre-conceived notions – political and social.
The Supreme Court (SC) offered prayers and joined the nation in mourning the demise of former Santiago.
In a statement, the SC said it is one with the nation in mourning the passing of Santiago, offers its prayers for comfort for her loved ones, and remembers her significant contributions to law as a scholar, professor, author, and lawmaker.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
“I do not have an obligation to please everybody or to please one person. But if you’re a Filipino, I am at your service because I work for you. I receive my keep for the day from the pocket of the people,” Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said.
President Duterte also reiterated his stand on the peaceful settlement of disputes and vowed to pursue an independent foreign policy.

Social Profiles

Livestream

The Proliferation of Drugs Syndicates at the National Bilibid Prison with Ronnie Palisoc Dayan Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs (November 23, 2016)(November 23, 2016)Sept. 19, 2016House Committee Hearing